Elden Ring Nightreign Review
Elden Ring Nightreign is a weird one. It takes the foundation of one of the best open-world RPGs of a generation and turns it into not just a roguelite where death is even more of a big deal, but a three-person, co-op-focused roguelite. And in many ways, that strange experimental concoction is a success. Under the right conditions, Nightreign's 45-ish minute runs are positively thrilling. They are packed with surprising encounters, challenging decisions, satisfying opportunities for teamwork, and some of the best boss battles FromSoftware has ever come up with – and that's a very high bar. The big problem, however, is that those right conditions are far more difficult to create than they should be. You really need to have a consistent squad of similarly skilled players that are able to devote hours at a time in order to see what makes Nightreign special – and when you don't, the flaws of its design are magnified tenfold. There is excellence in this Elden Ring spin off, but it's excellence that is just a little bit tarnished.
Let's get the most important caveat out of the way first: If you are hoping to tackle Nightreign entirely solo, and are anything less than a hardcore Elden Ring player that actively seeks out ways to make that already difficult game even more challenging, Nightreign isn't for you. Yes, there is technically a single-player option, but it is so poorly balanced that I would be shocked if it isn't patched and adjusted within the first month of release. And this is coming from someone who lives and breathes these types of games.To understand why, we first need to go over what Nightreign even is. On a very basic level, this is a roguelite that takes place on an island called Limveld, which is kind of like a melting pot of Elden Ring's environments, enemies, bosses, and structures. The general flow of a run is split up into a three-day cycle: On days one and two, it's all about farming gear, defeating bosses, and leveling up so that you're as prepared as possible when you face off against one of the eight extremely difficult Nightlord bosses on day three. It's a great formula, and while you might think that the mostly static map would get old after a while, there's a good amount of procedural generation every run that mixes up the locations of every point of interest, requiring you to plan out a unique route on each new attempt. On top of that, there are also random events like boss raids, summoning portals, and other occurrences that inject a heavy level of chaos every once in a while.
Efficiency is key because you are on a very strict time limit, with a battle royale-esque circle that constricts at set points throughout the day, eventually shrinking to the size of a small battlefield and setting the stage for the boss battle that ends the night.
It is immediately obvious that Nightreign was designed with a three-player squad in mind. Enemy encampments that don't require you to fight a single boss will instead have you spread out to takedown three tough enemies; basic encounters against five or more enemies that would be trivial with three players become costly time wasters when you're on your own; and the new Nightlord bosses all seem explicitly designed with having allies in mind, and I'm not sure how I'd approach several of them by myself. Nightreign at least scales up your damage when you're alone, but it doesn't change any of these fundamental design decisions in any way that would make solo play more reasonable.
But the biggest issue is that co-op partners are able to revive each other when someone goes down, but you've only got one life to live when you're on your own. That's generally the case in roguelites, but usually there's some sort of safety net that you can fall back on. For example: Hades has Death Defiances, and part of the progression of that game allows you to work toward unlocking more of them with every run; Returnal has artifacts you can find that give you extra lives, rewarding you for being more thorough in your exploration; Spelunky has shortcuts that allow you to skip the early stages and get practice on the enemies, traps, and bosses you only have limited experience with.
What We Said About Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
FromSoftware says Shadow of the Erdtree is the only expansion Elden Ring will get, so it's fortunate that it's hard to imagine a better DLC than this – as long as you're not hoping for it to do anything radically outside the box. Everything I loved about the original has been condensed into an incredibly tight package – one that's the size of many standalone games all on its own, and can only be considered 'small' in comparison to the absolutely massive world of Elden Ring itself. Erdtree's absolutely jam-packed with secrets, valuable treasures, challenging boss battles, and horrific monstrosities to face off against, as well as cool new weapons, spells, Ashes of War, Spirit Ashes, talismans, and more to play around with and use to find even more novel ways to tackle its memorably brutal battles. Add on some very interesting lore revelations, not to mention the same spectacular visual design and stellar music that accompanies its larger-than-life bosses, and you've got what is certainly one of the best DLC expansions I've ever played. – Mitchell Saltzman, June 25, 2024
Read the full Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review
The list goes on and on, but Nightreign has virtually nothing to make up for the fact that solo players lose access to that crucial revival option. There is an item that will resurrect you once with half of your life, but it's limited to the highest rarity tier, meaning you have to choose it over a legendary weapon if one does appear as a reward – similarly, you may find them in a shop, but they cost a substantial amount of runes that you could instead use to level up. Either way, it's just not a solution that makes up for the crippling detriment of not having someone to revive you if you go down.
None of this is to say that solo play is outright impossible, and I have had a few successful runs on my own. Just that the balancing of solo play feels like a job half finished, and as a result, the frustration of playing alone wasn't worth the triumph for me to have any desire to play more without a squad.
It Takes Three
Nightreign's saving grace is that when you do have a squad of three people who all know what they're doing, communicate well, and are generally pretty skilled at Elden Ring, it really is a lot of fun. The central idea of taking an entire game's worth of progression and condensing it into a 40-minute run is a strong one. Going from cutting down rats with a basic weapon to culling Elden Ring's most fearsome bosses with a badass armament that you may or may not have gotten to use in the main game is one of the coolest and most satisfying parts. It's 80+ hours of character growth condensed into less than an hour and shot straight into your veins.Dropping into a run the first couple of times is certainly overwhelming, mostly because of the amount of information on the minimap you have to process, but at least FromSoft keeps the inventory and stat management very simple. Level ups are automatic, letting you press a button at a Site of Grace to automatically level your class's preferred stats. And as far as weapon stats go, all you have to worry about here is the damage number, the elemental affinity, the passive bonus you get simply for having the weapon in your inventory, and the weapon skill that comes along with it. This meant when I had a choice between three rewards, I was able to very quickly make a judgment on what I needed at that moment and continue on my way.
Eventually, I started to understand what rewards were offered at which camps, which ones were quick and could be cleared before the circle closed in, which ones I should only do if I had a lot of extra time, what level I should attempt certain roaming bosses, and which bosses I should absolutely avoid unless my team was really confident in our builds. Exploring these areas can be more frustrating than it needs to be thanks to a new wall climbing ability that feels straight up bad, especially when it takes three attempts to jump over what looks like it should be an easily scalable wall as you're trying to escape the encroaching circle. But learning the ins and outs of the map helped my efficiency and led to a very satisfying feeling of skill progression that wasn't tied to the actual progression system that offers persistent improvements between attempts.
That system is tied to relics that can be won after completing a run. Whether you win or lose, you still get relics, but the better you perform, the better the quality and quantity of relics you earn. These can be equipped before a run and impart stat bonuses, starting skills or elemental affinities for your initial weapon, buffs for performing certain actions, and in some cases, they can even improve the skills of a specific class. When you're just starting out, these bonuses are hardly noticeable and too random to really make any sort of compelling build from. Eventually though, with enough runs under your belt, you'll get some powerful relics that can really start to have an effect on your power level in a run.
That said, there really should be more of an element of choice with regards to the meta progression, or at least a way to control some of the randomness. There are a small selection of relics that you can buy at the Jar Shop inside your base before runs, and there are set relic rewards for beating Nightlord bosses and completing class-specific objectives called remembrances – but other than that, you're completely at the mercy of the RNG gods when it comes to what relics you get. It can be really annoying when you're looking to strengthen your preferred class and you keep getting relics that don't do anything for you.
Select Your Nightfarer
One of the biggest departures compared to what we're used to from Elden Ring is that the classes are now actual classes, with unique skills and gameplay styles as opposed to soft classes that just determine your starting stats and weapons. They're called Nightfarers, and the eight options are varied and well defined, with even the more basic archetypes having some interesting twists to them. The Wylder, for instance, is the general jack of all trades, but also has access to a nifty grappling hook that can be used to pull weak enemies towards you, zip you toward larger enemies, or simply zoom you around the field at high speeds if you aim it at the ground.
In addition to the basic fighter, mage, and ranger archetypes, you also have a few completely unique choices that don't fit into any pre-existing mold. One of the most interesting classes is the Executor, whose main skill has you pulling out a unique sword with a Sekiro-like parrying mechanic tied to it. Basically, by blocking attacks with proper timing, you completely negate damage, don't lose any stamina, and reduce the enemy's own stamina, potentially opening them up for a critical hit. It's a very risky class, especially in a game where missing a parry can mean almost certain death, and it feels like the offensive power of the Sekiro sword is too weak to justify the risk of the parries, but I appreciate this inclusion nonetheless as both a nod to Sekiro, and as a completely different way to approach combat.
As mentioned, each of the classes has a remembrance tied to them, which is essentially a collection of journal entries that chronicle the story of how they wound up in Limveld and their purpose for being there. It's a far cry from the rich lore that we're used to in FromSoft games, but at least each remembrance has a handful of playable chapters that have you completing specific objectives in order to earn powerful relics, as well as a healthy amount of runes to help you level up during the actual run itself.
Almost all of Nightreign is made up of existing Elden Ring parts, but there are a few surprise bosses that are pulled from the Dark Souls series as well. But the eight Nightlords are brand new, and hoo boy, they're almost all unlike any boss FromSoft has designed before. Many of them are clearly inspired by MMO boss battles, with a number of party-wiping attacks that must be stopped or interrupted before they get a chance to finish their preparation. Others are designed to split the party up into roles to either hold aggro or press the assault, and some are just designed to be all out wars against absurdly aggressive foes.
They're almost all bangers, with only one of them being a dud due to the best strategy simply being hanging back and pelting them with arrows for what felt like an hour. Still, seven out of eight is pretty great, especially when those seven are among the very best FromSoftware has ever crafted, with excellent accompanying soundtracks to match. I don't want to spoil them too much, but the fight against the Fissure in the Fog boss in particular is so good it gave me goosebumps all throughout.
But the creativity of those bosses once again shines a light on the eldritch elephant in the room: they only really work with a team, and by far the two biggest issues facing Nightreign right now are, one, the shocking lack of crossplay and two, the absence of a duos playlist (you will be forced to fill the third player with matchmaking). It is simply a lot to ask of a group of three people who all must have purchased the $40 game, play on the same platform, be of a similarly matched skill to be able to handle the extreme challenge of the day 3 bosses, have the time to devote at least 45 minutes per run, and also can all agree on fighting the same boss that they may or may not all need to beat for their own individual progression.
There is a decent pinging system that at least makes it possible for light communication with a group of randos, but there's no built-in voice chat, which makes nuance like trying to communicate that your group should hit the basement of the castle instead of the front or side entrance virtually impossible. It's just a night and day difference when you're able to group up with a squad that communicates well and knows what they're doing versus when you've got one that doesn't listen to you or just constantly makes bad decisions, especially with no way to vote to cancel or quit out of a run without a penalty. That makes the prospect of random matchmaking on the live servers pretty unappealing.
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17 hours ago
- CNET
Essential Elden Ring: Nightreign Tips for New Players
Elden Ring Nightreign is FromSoftware's multiplayer, rougelike spin-off of 2022's popular action-RPG Elden Ring, and it's not easy. Even the most hardcore fans of the Soulslike genre will be completely overwhelmed at first. Luckily, there are some tips to help Nightfarers survive the night and triumph over the Nightlord. In Elden Ring Nightreign, players team up or go solo on runs to take down a nightlord, a daunting boss waiting for them at the end of two in-game days of fighting enemies and getting stronger, which requires fast thinking and quick reflexes to defeat. While it carries the Elden Ring name, Nightreign plays so differently, as the name of the game is speed rather than the slow exploration of other FromSoftware titles. It's this change of pace that will throw veteran players off, but if you follow some of these tips, you and your team will be prepared to survive the night. Team chemistry is key Putting a good team together is what will ultimately lead to a successful run. A team should be made up of someone who can tank (Wylder, Raider, Guardian) and a mix of the other characters. One big help is going to have one team member play a ranged character (Ironeye, Recluse) who can act as a reviver to pick up characters who fall in battle, as they need to be attacked in order to heal them (or at least having another player carry a ranged weapon to perform the same). Being able to do this from a distance can be very useful in runs. Another part of team chemistry is having someone to strategize where to go on the fly. A point person to lay out where your team will go instead of everyone chiming in will help move the runs along without having to wait around to figure out where to go next. If possible, go for flasks first, then bosses Every character starts out with three flasks for healing, but there are more available. They can be found in churches scattered on the map, usually in a bright orange color. 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Another idea is if a ranged weapon like a bow drops, consider picking it up if you're a melee character as a way to revive teammates from a distance when needed. Look for the best route Routing is so important for a good run. You want to try to clear out the various dungeons, castles, mines and camps available to gain levels and better equipment. Since you have a set amount of time before the storm circle closes in, start on the outer parts first and slowly make your way in. Eventually, you'll get the timing down to clear out camps right before the circle closes to get the last bit of runes to level up your character. Pay attention to your surroundings, you might miss some help Found all throughout the map are tiny patches of glowing flowers, fire butterflies and so on that provide some quick buffs, like finding more runes or getting rid of status ailments or healing you. One thing to definitely keep an eye out for is scarabs. 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Realize when to ignore trash mobs and items When you drop onto the map, your team is very likely going to be in a random spot, and you'll see some low-level enemies nearby. You should definitely take down all these weaker enemies to get yourself to level 3. There will also be random items scattered around the map. Feel free to get these early on, but once you get to level 3, it's time to focus. In Nightrein, you need more levels, better equipment and buffs, which won't be found on weak enemies or the items around them. Ignore them completely once you get high enough, as you will not have extra time to take them down in your quest for stronger boss enemies and powerful upgrades. Bandai Namco Shoot for level 12 It can't be stressed enough how important it is to be at the right level when fighting a nightlord. One level could be the difference between an easy win and an utter defeat. 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I Played Elden Ring Nightreign as a Third-Person Shooter. Here's Why You Should Pick Up a Bow
Usually when I pick up a new FromSoftware game, I opt to build my character into the biggest, strongest guy alive. In Bloodborne, I swung around the Hunter's Axe from beginning to end, and in Elden Ring, I beelined to the first colossal swords I could find, which include some of the game's best weapons. I'm happiest when I have enough poise to stand my ground against any attack and just keep swinging a blade at the bad guy. I was planning on playing a big, strong character in Elden Ring Nightreign, too. Perhaps I would tank the hits for my team as the Guardian or power through them as the Raider. And then my DualSense controller's USB cable busted right as the review period started. Have you ever tried to play Elden Ring with a keyboard and mouse? It's not the most intuitive control scheme. Off the rip, I was having trouble with simple tasks like flicking between enemies and swiftly changing my equipment in the heat of battle. I quickly gave up on trying to make a melee character work, and decided to try out Ironeye, the roguish assassin carrying a bow and dagger. What I found was a character that made me feel surprisingly useful as part of a three-person squad, especially as a gamer more well-versed in shooters than in roleplaying games -- and I could play the archer just like third-person shooters I'm familiar with. That's right: While most Ironeye players are using lock-on, I'm firing with free-aim crosshairs. And it's incredible. Free aiming with a two-handed bow feels smooth and responsive in Nightreign. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Archery has never felt more intuitive in a FromSoftware game My previous forays into picking up a bow in Elden Ring were stymied by the fact that I needed to manage my inventory of arrows on the fly. While it's cool to craft trick arrows (it makes me feel like Hawkeye or Green Arrow) to inflict elemental damage or status afflictions, it's not cool to run out of arrows in the middle of combat. I never felt that I could pick a fight with only my bow and come out on top. In Elden Ring Nightreign, you have infinite arrows -- your attacks are only limited by your stamina and focus points (aka mana) if using special abilities. In a three-person squad, I was able to constantly pressure enemies from afar, pincushioning bosses in their weak points as my allies hacked at their legs. The arrows don't do the highest damage per second in the game, but I was able to land consistent hits on our opponents and chip away at the health bar even during more dangerous phases of the battle. And since I was farther away from the boss, I was safer from danger -- a genuine concern when the effectiveness of the team largely depends on everyone staying up. Perhaps most usefully, I could shoot my fallen squadmates from a distance to revive them without drawing the boss's attention. The best part of Nightreign's archery is the generous free aim camera. I wasn't joking when I said that I played the game as if it were a third-person shooter. While the camera lock reliably let me hit center mass on most enemies, wielding a bow with two hands let me aim with my mouse and loose arrows across any of my sightlines on the battlefield. Many foes would stumble when I shot them in the head, and I used this to stun-lock smaller enemies and clear the fodder during hectic boss fights. As it turns out, all of the time I've been putting into Marvel Rivals has resulted in me picking up some transferable accuracy skills that aid my survival in The Lands Between. If and when a boss focused on me instead of my allies, I would revert to using the camera lock and kite the monster around the outside of the arena. Ironeye is dexterous, and can dodge through many attacks. If I'd created a large enough gap between myself and the beast, I weaved in a volley or two from my quiver before continuing my retreat. Eventually, my allies would peel the boss away from me, and I'd get back to work doing what I'm best at -- needling the giant bad guy in the face until it stopped moving. Ironeye's dagger dash keeps him safe while letting him do extra damage to any foes he cuts through. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET A Nightfarer with utility and survivability While Ironeye's damage-per-second isn't as high as other Nightfarers, I never felt like a mere nuisance on the battlefield. My ranged capabilities let me target weak points that my teammates couldn't hit, even on certain Nightlord aspects (the final boss of an expedition). I was able to do remarkable damage to flying enemies, and certain bosses -- like dragons -- would quickly fall to a flurry of well-aimed arrows. When enemies didn't have an obvious weakness, I'd create one myself with Ironeye's class ability. He can dash forward with his dagger, exposing an enemy's weak spot and granting a damage multiplier to any arrows landed there. When I'm able to destroy the mark, the team is able to take advantage of a unique enemy stagger, opening a crucial window of opportunity for free damage. I felt rewarded for approaching the battle and passing quickly through an enemy, before returning to the outskirts of the arena to double my DPS. The dagger dash is also a great survival tool, because Ironeye gets invincibility frames during the full animation and repositions himself on the other side of an approaching foe. The ability recharges within seconds, so I never felt like I was left high and dry with no way to defend myself against a particularly aggressive brawler. If one of those enemies happened to down my squadmates, all I had to do was fire a handful of arrows at an ally to get them back into the fight. There's no doubt in my mind that Ironeye is the best Nightfarer for reviving teammates -- the Recluse needs to expend FP to do similarly, and even the Revenant needs to use her ultimate to match the value the archer brings to the table in this regard. While any class can equip a bow, they likely won't have the Dexterity stat advantage that Ironeye has to do more revival "damage" to pick up teammates. Ironeye's ultimate ability cleaves through the battlefield to hit its intended target. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Most importantly, Ironeye provides great utility to the melee-focused members of his squad. His ultimate ability, Single Shot, pulls out a massive great bow that takes a couple seconds to set up, but fires through any enemies and terrain to spear its intended target. This ability absolutely clears fodder that might be crowding your allies, but I also found that it does great poise damage against bosses -- opening them up for devastating critical hits from your team. If you want to find success in Elden Ring Nightreign, half the battle is putting together an effective team composition. While archery might be a load of bunk in Elden Ring, Ironeye more than holds his own in this game. Grab your bow and arrows and play Nightreign like a third-person shooter -- you'll be able to DPS and support the squad without breaking a sweat.
